Drains and cleanouts are installed near the beginning of construction of a residence, business office or industrial facility, typically just before the concrete floors are poured. Construction may continue after that for months or several years. If the floor is finished with concrete, of course, the drain will be set flush with the top of the concrete pour. When the concrete is poured around drains in a floor that is to be finished using tile, the drain must sit above the top surface of the concrete by a sufficient margin to allow for the thickness of the tile and grout, adhesive or other securement so that, when the tile is installed around the drain, the top surface of the tile will be level with the top surface of the drain. The amount the drain sits up above the concrete prior to tile installation varies with the type of tile to be used, such as for example, ⅛″ (3.175 mm) up from the surface of the concrete for VCT (vinyl composite tile); ½″ (6.35 mm) up from the surface of the concrete for porcelain tile (⅛″ grout plus ⅜″ tile); 2″ (51 mm) up from the surface of the concrete for ceramic tile (½″ tile plus 1½″ grout bed). Other floor finish materials may vary in thickness.
During construction, the drains and cleanouts are subject to abuse from the on-going construction work taking place around them, such as the impact of heavy objects and lateral forces caused, for example, by forklifts driving over them carrying pallets of blocks, steel, and other loads. Exposure to weather may cause drains to corrode, rust or tarnish. To provide some protection for drain covers, they may be covered with duct tape. Tape may provide protection from weather exposure but is little protection from abuse. After a while, tape tends to peel off, or it may be scraped off. At that point, water may wash concrete, dirt, and rocks into the drain.
Construction engineers will visit job sites regularly to inspect and note defects. Drains and cleanouts that are damaged or broken will be noted and their replacement demanded. Replacement requires breaking up the concrete around the drain, providing a new drain, and patching the concrete floor around the replacement drain. A damaged or broken drain can be expensive to fix, and the floor around it will be, and will look like, “a patch job.”
Although the drains and cleanouts are installed near the beginning of construction, the area around the drain or cleanout is finished near the end of the process. At this point, all heavy construction has been completed and the building is protected from weather.
Concrete finishers use 10′ (30.5 cm) to 15′ (46 cm) screen boards to pull the concrete flat. When a drain sits up higher than the level of the concrete, the board must be picked up and moved over the drain. This requirement results in a rougher finish in the area immediately around the drain. When the concrete sets and becomes firm, a power screed machine is used to obtain a smooth finish. Because the drain sits higher than the concrete, the screed must be maneuvered around the drain. Finishers will then use a hand trowel to smooth the concrete around the drain, visually maintaining the clearance of the drain by a distance above the finished concrete sufficient for the thickness of grout and tile. If they leave too much concrete, the drain will not sit up high enough to match the tile's top surface, and the excess concrete will need to be removed by chiseling or grinding. If the finisher pulls too much concrete away, then the drain will sit too high and floor fill material will be spread around the drain to bring the concrete surface even with the tile top surface. Drains sitting lower or higher than the tile are a tripping hazard. Drains may not be level and be flush on one side but a little higher or lower on the opposing side. Whenever the drain and surrounding tile are not level, both appearance and safety are adversely affected.